Bringing you the latest news and information from the world of jazz and beyond...

Friday, August 05, 2016

Guitarist Francisco Pais' Lotus Project merges genres and keeps pushing boundaries on his new Album Verde

After three highly acclaimed albums, Portuguese born
guitarist Francisco Pais has been exploring new music relentlessly with some of
the most influential young lions in NYC. He is a creative tour-de-force who
never ceases to try push the limits of what can be done in music.

For Pais this new album Verde means expansion. "When I
make an album I am always driven by the creative collaborations I will have in
order to give birth to any project. These musicians share my energy, my
passion, my emotions and they believe in my music and my message. The expansion
means getting bigger in depth though not in size," explains Francisco.

It's hard to describe what makes a musical collaboration
work - there has to be just the right balance of tension and sympathy. That's
what happens in Verde from the first note in the album. Francisco comments,
"To be recording with the people I admire and love, my friends, it's truly
a blessing. There is a connection amongst all of us. My goal is to facilitate a
point of entry in my music that will allow everyone's unique skills and voice
to be heard in a bold and honest manner. I see this recording as a ritual and
an opportunity to birth creative impact in a world that needs light to shine
trough. I am exploring my capacity for change. I am always evolving."

These musicians have been performing together for over 10
years, and the resulting instinctive, organic rapport shines through on Verde.
The lineup for this album features saxophonists Myron Walden and Godwin Louis,
longtime partner in crime drummer Ferenc Nemeth, pianist Julian Shore and
bassist Connor Schultze.

Although this is a new band, Francisco shares a deep musical
history with each musician. "I've been playing and touring with Ferenc
since our Berklee years. Berklee sponsored my group to tour in Europe every
year over the summer. It was a complete blast. I played several gigs with Myron
in NYC and he was the sound that I was looking for. This perfect combination of
soulfulness and artistry is why I invited him to play on both my 3rd album
Raise Your Vibration and this one In
addition, I spent a handful of great years playing and recording with Julian
Shore and Connor Schultze.

The sonic landscape presented on Verde is quite different
from Francisco's 2012 and 2014 releases. This is a guitar heavy album, and the
music is presented without edits or isolation, as captured in pristine detail
by engineer Mike Perez at Big Orange Sheep Studios in Brooklyn and mixed by
Grammy award winner and engineering guru James Farber at Shelter Island Studios
in Manhattan. Senior mastering engineer Greg Calby at Sterling Sound in NYC did
the final polish of Verde. Greg is a Grammy award winner that mastered artists
such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon and Paul Simon to name a few.

While not a tribute recording in any way, this recording
shows Francisco honoring all the guitarists who have inspired and informed his
completely unique approach to the instrument and compostitions. You'll heard a
myriad of sounds such as slide guitar, a screaming bluesy distortion, acoustic
guitar, some drum'n' bass guitar synth sounds with reverse delays and a warm
jazz vibrato guitar sound complementing his compositions in this album. Francisco says, "This album embodies the
deep inspiration I have taken over the years from my earliest guitar heroes,
including Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Hendrix
and Eric Clapton to name a few." Francisco filters his myriad influences
(indie rock, R&B, jazz, Brazilian folk) into a singular, electrifying sound
on Verde.

"I use to get all these magazines like Guitar Player
and learn all the guitar licks in it. When I was a teenager at 14 I had a rock
band and we played all kinds of hard rock, indie rock, funk and blues music. I
was both the main vocalist and the lead guitarist. I used a Fender Stratocaster
with a Floyd Rose. It was a blast! "

The tittle of the album Verde means green. "I come from
a small village in Portugal called Sintra and there are thousands of shades of
green over there. It's a magical stretch of mountains with Castles and Palaces
that overlook the Atlantic Ocean. For me green is the color of hope and it has
always been my favorite color. It also relates to our 4th Chakra located in our
heart, called Anahata. I like to be aware of where the music is coming from and
more than anything I wanted this music to shine through my heart. I wanted to
encourage people to have an awakening during these crazy times. Lots of people
are numb, consumed by technology, in fear of sending their children to school
when we should be holding hands empowering each other. We must awake and teach
each other not to give mental energy and unconscious loyalty to public figures
who are shallow role models. We need to shine light and not criticize someone
else's ability to shine light. We need a collective awakening."

A devoted yogi, Pais has played his own music all over the
world with some of the best musicians in the New York scene. After an audition
in Paris in 1998, Pais was awarded a scholarship to come to the United States
to study jazz performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. In 2002,
he graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Music Performance. In the following years
he toured throughout the world playing at venues including Smalls, Shapeshifter
and Joe's Pub (New York City), Ryles (Boston), The Rex and Trane Studio
(Toronto), and Ducs des Lombards (Paris), among many others. Pais has also
performed with a number of prominent musicians including Chris Cheek, Marcus
Strickland, Seamus Blake, Gretchen Parlato, Becca Stevens, Myron Walden, Alvin
Atkinson and Justin Brown. Pais has received numerous awards for his work from
the Doris Duke Foundation, Chamber Music America and Rhode Island State Council
for the Arts.